Musical Road to Womex 2024 – Ensamble B11

The first time we encountered them, last October in Setúbal during EXIB Música, it was nothing short of a revelation. They swept into Mercado do Livramento, the historic indoor market at the heart of the Portuguese city, and instantly transformed the hall into a vibrant stage. As they weaved through the buzzing stalls, harmonising with the cheese, meat, fruit, and vegetable vendors, local shoppers stood in awe. Their infectious rhythmic energy immediately took over the entire space. From the very first beat, Ensamble B11 doesn’t just perform—they amaze, leaving no room for anything but love and dance at first sight.

The Caracas-based group revitalises Afro-Venezuelan rhythms through a unique blend of beatboxing and a cappella singing, creating a distinctive fusion of tradition and contemporary sound. Their performances are a dynamic tribute to traditional genres like calypso, tambora, and parranda, but with a thrilling modern twist. Born from the Fundación Bigott‘s cultural workshops, Ensamble B11 breathes new life into Venezuela’s musical heritage. Their debut album Afrovenezuela, released in 2022, marked the beginning of an exciting journey, recently capped off by their first European tour—and they’re already planning to return next year.

As they are set to perform in Manchester and at WOMEX in less than a month, we couldn’t resist reaching out to them for our Musical Road to WOMEX section. We conducted a Q&A with Belkys Figueira, Director of the Ensemble, and Manuel Herrera, the Musical Director, along with playlists curated by the musicians. Enjoy the rhythm!

Could you briefly introduce your music to someone new at Womex and share the key influences and origins of your unique sound?

Belkys Figuera: Ensemble B11 interprets Afro-Venezuelan genres. Venezuela has a wide variety of rhythms due to its extensive coastal area; depending on the region, we can find: cumaco drum, culo e’ puya drum, quitiplas, gaita de tambora, calypso. Knowing these genres through research in the classroom, seeing and listening to practitioners in the towns, allowed us to use beatboxing techniques to mimic the sounds or phonemes of each drum, integrating the bass and minor percussion. In this way, we can show a different format of Afro-Venezuelan music, merge some themes and even with Caribbean rhythms, making the sound unique and giving an identity to the group.

Manuel Herrera: Ensemble B11 performs traditional Venezuelan music using beatboxing elements to achieve that unique and innovative sound that characterizes us. We also play traditional instruments and fuse our traditional music with Caribbean and global genres. As influences from groups performing similar work, we can name Pentatonix, Vocal Song, Vocal Sampling, and traditional groups like Un Solo Pueblo, Serenata Guayanesa, Vasallos de Venezuela, and music from our towns and Venezuelan traditions.

Could you share an anecdote or personal experience that has impacted your musical journey and the evolution of your sound?

BF: Moving from being a student of traditional Venezuelan singing and vocal technique to being a teacher, having the responsibility of teaching children and young people their tradition, seeing them, listening to them, led me to understand that I could not be rigid or too strict; I had to see beyond, like how to merge what the mass media sell us: TV and radio, the urban environment in a capital city, how to merge this with tradition. I had to listen to some students doing reggaeton, trap, rapping, and listen to others in a mocking tone imitate Afro drums with beatboxing techniques. Opening my mind and daring to fuse Afro-Venezuelan with beatboxing in a traditional school.

MH: A key anecdote that marks the beginning of what we are today took place during a vocal technique class for children at Fundación Bigott with our teacher, Belkys Figuera. There was a group that did not like nor participate in the workshop because they liked rap, reggae, and the urban genres popular at that time. Adrian, Victor, and I started to make the drums of culo e puya with the voice, in a mocking tone, and more than a mockery or “chalequeo” as we say here, it was a demonstration that our music could also be made that way, and from integrating them in that class, it went from a “chalequeo” to being part of the group’s vision, nowadays, we perform calypso, culo e’ puya, gaita de tambora in a vocal format and it continues to be attractive to new generations, so beyond an evolution it has become part of the group’s mission, through the music and culture we share with the world.

In a world full of various musical genres, styles, and traditions, how do you think your music stands out and offers something fresh and exciting to the ears of the audience?

BF: As I mentioned earlier, understanding that music is universal and that it can be fused while respecting its essence, the ensemble performs genres of Venezuelan tradition using beatboxing techniques, creating a distinctive fresh sound that can attract young and adults to see something innovative I can even say daring.

MH: I consider vocal music to be an ancient format of centuries and there are many groups that perform arrangements and traditional genres with it, however, Ensemble B11 stands out by using these techniques and applying them in traditional Venezuelan music, specifically in the Afro part of the percussion, it has been a challenge but at the same time it fills us with joy to know that we can transmit that energy that a live drum executed transmits to us, using beatbox and approaching in timbre, rhythmic and sonority, I feel that our proposal beyond providing something fresh, fills spectators and the general public with curiosity about wanting to know what rhythm we execute, where it is from, with which drum it is executed, and most importantly, how we went from playing it on the drum to performing it with the voices.

As Womex is not only the Worldwide Music Expo but also a lively global music funfair, are there any showcases you’re looking forward to attending and enjoying or artists participating that you would like to meet during those five days?

BF: It is always interesting to open showcases and find new, old, different, current things; this is enriching and even fun, it allows us to make exchanges, meet and continue innovating. I would like to meet everyone participating, to exchange ideas with everyone; they are important for learning and continuing to grow in music.

MH: I am sure that the whole Ensemble B11 will appreciate and enjoy the 24 showcases since the number of artists from other countries is impressive, it will be an experience of much learning and beautiful things for each of the members, in particular, I am very interested in the proposal of Les Mamans du Congo x Rrobin, Orchestra Baobab, Rioghnach Connolly & Honeyfeet, QUERALT LAHOZ among others.

This edition of Womex will take place in Manchester, a city with a vibrant cultural scene and a rich musical history. Are you particularly passionate about any act from the city, and how has the city’s musical heritage influenced your work, if at all?

BF: Manchester is considered a major artistic and financial center, a city that has been characterised by its growth at the level of financial projects it is a magical, beautiful city, at a musical level it has a very interesting historical heritage where the feeling of citizenship, of the young people who wanted and managed to change a city saying what they thought through music, is an example of struggle and that example I see reflected in the work of Ensemble B11, young people who believe in their music, that believe that music changes, that music has power, enriches the soul. Passion, love, perseverance.

MH: I am sure it will be a unique experience, because it is the first time we visit Manchester, and it is most likely that we will be filled with a lot of inspiration, good vibes, and desires to return.

Womex is a unique opportunity to share and showcase your music with new people and inform them about your upcoming projects. Could you reveal some of your plans for the future?

BF: Our future plans will be presented at Womex by saying here is Ensemble B11 one of our plans is to show our music to the world from the innovative and we can also say conservative, travel the world making music, exchanging cultures, also continue creating musical themes and being able to make our second album in which we are sure we will reflect the experiences lived in this wonderful musical journey.

MH: After having completed our first tour of Europe, incredible things have happened, wonderful collaborations and the focus of the group will be to work on a second album, continue promoting our music around the world, and we decree a 2025 with a second successful tour, full of a lot of music and good things.

If you had to draft an invitation card for our readers to join you at Womex and enjoy your presentation, what would you write on it?

BF: We invite you to a magical journey where you will live the most resonant experiences that will mark your life, inspire growth, and deepen your love for music.

MH: You are cordially invited to a journey of Afro-Venezuelan rhythms in two different formats, which will teleport you to that world where the body is free and the enjoyment of music will make you move your feet and the whole body, the songs of laundresses will touch the most fragile fiber of your heart, and finally the drum of our land Venezuela will resonate.

 

You are all invited to join Ensemble B11 for a magical journey
on Thursday, 24th October, at the Theatre Stage, Manchester Central Exchange Auditorium, at 00:45

 


 

PLAYLIST: ENSAMBLE B11 X RHYTHM PASSPORT

 

 

- You can find all the previous episodes of Musical Road to Womex HERE -